Question

Posted by: Lizelle | 2010-02-16

Cycling and eating healthy

We' ve cycled for a while now, but now we are training to do the 94.7 later this year - so roughtly we cycle about 100km a week (twice in the week and then on Sat and Sun). I am 1.64 and weighs 58 kg. I am concerned that I' m not eating correctly and might gain weight seeing that I' m not loosing weight due to all this exercise - I have a sandwich in the morning - two slices of bread (white or wholeweat - depends on what I' ve got at home) with one teaspoon margarine and grated cheese. For lunch I will either have muesli with skim milk or All Bran flakes with skim milk. For snacks I take two appels, a banana, and 1 x packet of dried fruit and nuts (Safari mix) to work which I snack on in between. Some days I don' t eat the All Bran/Muesli. At night I will have whatever I' m making but watch my portions. Is this a healthy eating plan? Or should I adjust it at some places?

Our expert says:

The reason you're not losing weight is probably because you don't have much to lose. At 58kg, for your height, you're actually pretty close to ideal body weight. So the body will struggle to get down from there. It's not the same as for someone who weighs 120kg.

I also wouldn't worry about gaining weight. If you do more cardio training, you are only more likely to lose weight. Sure, you'll increase your lean muscle mass, and you may decrease fat mass, but that's a good thing - the scale doesn't tell the whole story in that case. The biggest 'risk' is that you don't manage your diet in conjuction with your training, because then you may overcompensate and actually eat MORE as you train more. You just have to be careful about that.

I would strongly advise that you see a dietician about this diet - there are nuances and complexities that you can only really sort out by discussing with someone what you do, what you prefer and what you can/can't do. So I would really advise that you see a dietician for this particular question.

Good luck

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Our users say:

Posted by: fitnessdoc | 2010-02-23

Hi Lizelle

The reason you're not losing weight is probably because you don't have much to lose. At 58kg, for your height, you're actually pretty close to ideal body weight. So the body will struggle to get down from there. It's not the same as for someone who weighs 120kg.

I also wouldn't worry about gaining weight. If you do more cardio training, you are only more likely to lose weight. Sure, you'll increase your lean muscle mass, and you may decrease fat mass, but that's a good thing - the scale doesn't tell the whole story in that case. The biggest 'risk' is that you don't manage your diet in conjuction with your training, because then you may overcompensate and actually eat MORE as you train more. You just have to be careful about that.

I would strongly advise that you see a dietician about this diet - there are nuances and complexities that you can only really sort out by discussing with someone what you do, what you prefer and what you can/can't do. So I would really advise that you see a dietician for this particular question.

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